143: Chapter 143 The Peak Master's Recommendation!

When Lin Tian walked to the entrance of the hall, Peak Master Su Hanyan's voice came from behind him.

"Wait."

He stopped his footsteps and turned around.

Peak Master Su Hanyan was still standing behind the long desk, one hand resting on the corner of the desk, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the spot where she had left an imprint.

Her expression was somewhat subtle; she did not look as cold and distant as usual, but rather like she had words stuck in her throat, wanting to say them but unable to get them out.

"Is there anything else, Peak Master?" Lin Tian asked.

Peak Master Su Hanyan coughed once. The cough was not loud, but it was clearly audible in the spacious hall.

She withdrew the hand resting on the corner of the desk, clasped it behind her back, and lifted her chin slightly, restoring her cold and solemn demeanor, though her tone was a bit softer than usual.

"You are not bad," she paused, as if weighing her words, "worth Cultivating with focus."

Lin Tian's eyebrows twitched slightly. Cultivating with focus. These four words carried significant weight coming from Peak Master Su Hanyan. Among the hundreds of Disciples on Zixia Peak, those who could make her say "Cultivating with focus" could be counted on one hand.

He cupped his fists, said nothing, and waited for Peak Master Su Hanyan to continue.

Peak Master Su Hanyan walked out from behind the long desk, went to the center of the hall, and stopped three or four steps away from Lin Tian. The morning light slanted in through the window, plating her purple robes with a layer of faint gold.

She looked at Lin Tian, the coldness in her gaze having faded for the most part, replaced by a look of serious appraisal.

"Do you know that our Zixia Peak Disciples can hold concurrent posts in certain places? By taking on certain duties, you can receive some silver every month, as well as some Cultivation resources. Depending on the position, the benefits vary."

Holding concurrent posts. Lin Tian was not unfamiliar with this term. Before joining the Qixia Sect, when he was Cultivating at a martial arts school, he had once held concurrent posts at some small Families.

Nominally, it was to serve as a guard or instructor, but in reality, it was a form of benefit exchange between the martial arts school and the Family—the Family provided money and resources to support the Martial Artists of the school, and the Martial Artists provided strength to protect the safety of the Family.

The martial arts school relied on this to make money, and the Family relied on this to ensure peace; each got what they needed. The Sect should be similar, just that the scale of the Sect was much larger than the martial arts school, and there were more places to hold concurrent posts.

"I misjudged you before," Peak Master Su Hanyan said, her tone indifferent, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

But for her to personally admit to "misjudging" was already extremely rare. "So, I intend to make it up to you. I will recommend a position for you."

Lin Tian's heart stirred. A position personally recommended by the Peak Master was definitely a good position.

Although Peak Master Su Hanyan had misjudged him for a year, she was, after all, the Peak Master of Zixia Peak; her vision and connections were there. The job she recommended could not be bad.

"Thank you, Peak Master," Lin Tian cupped his fists, his tone sincere. "May I ask what position it is?"

"Go to the fishery to serve as a guard," Peak Master Su Hanyan said. "You can receive one hundred taels of silver every month, plus one Treasure Fish."

One hundred taels of silver. When Lin Tian heard this number, the expression on his face did not change, but he felt a slight disappointment in his heart.

One hundred taels of silver a month, which was only one thousand two hundred taels a year. The silver notes he had on hand added up to over ten thousand taels, and a casual herb-gathering mission could net him several thousand taels.

One hundred taels of silver was indeed something he looked down upon. But a position personally recommended by Peak Master Su Hanyan could not be worth only one hundred taels of silver.

The one hundred taels of silver was just the superficial salary; the truly valuable thing must be that "Treasure Fish."

The problem lay with this "Treasure Fish." He had never heard of it.

"Peak Master, what is this Treasure Fish?" Lin Tian thought for a moment and asked again, "Does it have any relation to Treasure Medicine?"

Peak Master Su Hanyan smiled.

She rarely smiled. At least in the year or more since Lin Tian had entered Zixia Peak, the number of times he had seen Peak Master Su Hanyan smile could be counted on one hand.

But she was indeed smiling now, the corners of her mouth curving slightly, and her eyes carried a hint of a smile, as if Lin Tian had asked a question that satisfied her greatly.

"You are very smart."

She walked to the window and reached out to push it open further. The mountain wind rushed in, blowing her robes and hair so that they fluttered gently.

She gazed at the mountain scenery outside the window, her voice unhurried.

"Treasure Fish and Treasure Medicine are essentially the same. So-called Treasure Medicine is the top-tier type of medicinal herbs in the world, born from absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. After maturing, they possess potent medicinal power and are of great benefit to a Martial Artist's Cultivation.

Treasure Fish are the same—it's just that one is a plant, and the other is an animal."

Lin Tian's pupils contracted slightly. Treasure Fish and Treasure Medicine were the same. This answer made his heart jump violently. He had consumed the red blood vermilion fruit and knew well the power of Treasure Medicine.

Once a vermilion fruit was swallowed, the medicinal power dissolved, and the Internal Energy in his body felt as if it had been ignited, his Cultivation level directly jumping up by a large margin.

That feeling, he remembered clearly even now. If Treasure Fish and Treasure Medicine were Cultivation resources of the same level, then if he received one Treasure Fish every month, wouldn't that be equivalent to being able to eat one Treasure Medicine every month?

"This... isn't this a bit too extravagant?" Lin Tian's voice lowered instinctively.

Peak Master Su Hanyan glanced at him, and the smile at the corners of her mouth deepened slightly. She had probably anticipated that Lin Tian would have this reaction, and she waved her hand, signaling him to calm down.

"Although both are top-tier Cultivation resources, there are still some differences.

Treasure Medicine is extremely rare.

Treasure Medicine that grows naturally in the world often requires decades or centuries of age; it is something one encounters by luck but cannot seek out.

Artificial Cultivation is not impossible, but it takes too long—medicinal herbs, the longer their age, the more potent their medicinal power. Herbs of three or five years cannot be called Treasure Medicine at all; they need at least several decades of maturity to qualify."

"Therefore, the quantity of Treasure Medicine has always been unable to increase."

"But Treasure Fish are different." She turned around to face Lin Tian. "Treasure Fish can be artificially Cultivated in ponds.

And they don't need decades or centuries; generally, Treasure Fish of three to five years of age can be consumed.

What you can receive every month is this kind of three to five-year-old Treasure Fish."

She paused and held up three fingers: "A three-year-old Treasure Fish has a market price of three thousand taels in Yunzhou Prefecture."

She stretched out one hand, fingers spread: "Five-year-old ones are five thousand taels."

"And they are hard to come by even with money."

Lin Tian's breathing quickened slightly.

Three thousand taels, five thousand taels.

One per month, that's twelve per year.

Even if all are calculated as three-year-old ones, that's thirty-six thousand taels a year.

This was just the market price—Peak Master Su Hanyan had said they were hard to come by even with money. It meant that even if you had the silver, you might not be able to buy them.

"Why are they hard to come by even with money?" he asked.

"Because although Treasure Fish can be artificially Cultivated, the conditions for Cultivation are extremely harsh. Water temperature, water quality, feed, Spiritual Qi concentration—every single thing has strict requirements.

If there is the slightest carelessness, the entire pond of Treasure Fish can die off overnight. So, even though all the major Sects are Cultivating them, the yield has always been unable to increase." Peak Master Su Hanyan's voice became serious.

"And how many Martial Artists are there? The Qixia Sect alone has thousands of official Disciples. Adding up the Sects around Yunzhou Prefecture, there are tens of thousands of Martial Artists.

The few Treasure Fish produced by a mere few fish ponds are simply not enough to go around."

"More importantly, Treasure Fish are all Cultivated and used by the major Sects themselves; they are rarely sold externally.

Occasionally, those that flow into the market are snatched up by various major Families and martial arts schools. If you are not a Disciple of a major Sect, even if you have the silver, it is very difficult to enjoy them."

Lin Tian understood.

Although the quantity of Treasure Fish was greater than that of Treasure Medicine, it was still in short supply. Moreover, this thing was almost monopolized by the major Sects; they didn't even have enough for internal consumption, so it would simply not flow to the outside.

Loose Cultivators, and Disciples of small Families and small martial arts schools, even if they had heard of the name of Treasure Fish, might not be able to taste one in their entire lives.

And he, Lin Tian, only needed to go to the fishery to hold a post as a guard, and he could receive one every month. He didn't need to spend a single tael of silver, didn't need to go to the market to snatch one, and it would be issued to him fixedly every month.

"This Disciple is willing to hold the post," Lin Tian cupped his fists, his voice firm and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Peak Master Su Hanyan looked at his impatient appearance, the corners of her mouth curved up, and she nodded.

She walked back behind the long desk, took out a token from the drawer on the desk, and threw it to Lin Tian.

The token was the size of a palm, made of copper, with the character "Fishery" engraved on the front and the cloud and mist pattern of the Qixia Sect on the back. It felt heavy in his hand, its edges worn smooth and shiny, not knowing how many hands it had passed through.

"Take this token and go to the fishery of Bixia Peak to find Steward Zhou. He will arrange the specific duties for you," Peak Master Su Hanyan said, then added,

"Remember, the fishery is the territory of Bixia Peak. When you get there, follow their rules, and don't cause trouble for me."

"This Disciple understands." Lin Tian put the token into his bosom, cupped his fists toward Peak Master Su Hanyan, and turned to walk out of the hall.